SAN DIEGO — Broncos cornerback and special-teams standout Cassius Vaughn suffered a broken fibula after his 36-yard kickoff return in the first quarter against the Chargers in San Diego on Sunday. Vaughn was unable to return to the game, and his lower leg was heavily wrapped about an hour after the game as he was transported to the team bus by cart.

With only five weeks remaining in the regular season, it won't be easy for Vaughn to play again this season.

Safety Brian Dawkins finished out the game but was given a walking boot by the team's medical staff for the flight home. Dawkins has missed practice time because of his ankle this season.

Wide receiver Eddie Royal played sparingly in the second half and had a pronounced limp after the game.

Sea level is becoming nothing more than a constant breath of sweet oxygen to the Broncos.

Look at how the Broncos are winning. They were down 15-0 with three minutes left in regulation in Miami and still beat the Dolphins in overtime. They were down 24-14 midway through the third quarter in Oakland and stormed back to rout the Raiders 38-24.

And the Broncos just outlasted the San Diego Chargers on Sunday with a pulverizing final rush- oriented drive in overtime to win 16-13.

That's three come-from-behind wins near the banks of the ocean.

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"I think practicing in altitude helps," Broncos right tackle Orlando Franklin said. "I think when it comes down to the end, we might be in a little better shape."

The Broncos also beat the New York Jets 17-13 on a last-minute touchdown drive in Denver. Conditioning has to be a factor, along with the magic of workout warrior Tim Tebow, during this Broncos' 5-1 run.

Playoff hunt.

Nope, it's not crazy to think about. The Broncos are one game out of two playoff races with five to go. With a 6-5 record, the Broncos are one game behind 7-4 Oakland in the AFC West. The Broncos also are one game back of 7-4 Cincinnati for a wild-card spot. The Broncos would have the tiebreaker there because they beat the Bengals 24-22.

Live embarrassment.

Broncos coach John Fox was caught uttering a profanity while referee Jeff Triplette's microphone was on, and Chargers kicker Nick Novak was caught by cameras urinating on the sideline.

"That's pretty common," Novak said. "If we got to go, we take a knee by our water cooler. We can't really run inside and do it. We just take a knee; teammates hold up towels. It's kind of embarrassing, but oh, well."

The recovery.

When a team wins by three points in overtime, there is not one big play, but several. One of them was Franklin's recovery of Daniel Fells' fumble late in the first half. The Broncos were down 10-0 with 1:21 remaining when Tebow hit Fells for a 19-yard completion to the Chargers' 24. The ball was stripped from Fells. Chargers were all around the ball. But instead of falling on it, two Chargers tried running with it, and Franklin recovered it.

"I closed my eyes and tried to hit someone," Franklin said. "I don't know how I ended up with the ball. I was hitting someone, and I opened my eyes and the ball was in my arms."

Walkoff kick.

Before this season, Broncos kicker Matt Prater had just one "walkoff" field goal, a 41-yarder in overtime against New England in 2009. He now has three, all in overtime, which is when they tend to happen. He kicked a 52-yarder in Miami for an 18-15 overtime win on Oct. 23, then a 37-yarder with only 29 seconds left in the overtime Sunday.

"As a kicker, that's what you look for," Prater said. "Just like a quarterback looks for that 2-minute drive for a touchdown to win it at the end."

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

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